Pumpkins
by hedgehoginatutu
Summary: Alternative Universe. Katniss and Peeta celebrate Halloween with their daughter.


Summary: Alternative Universe. Katniss and Peeta celebrate Halloween with their daughter.

Notes: Written from Prompts in Panem's challenge 'Peeta's Paint Box' day two – orange.

Word Count: 1,469

* * *

I couldn't quite believe how long we had been out here. The sun was already setting and casting an orange glow across the pumpkin patch. Peeta insisted that the lighting was perfect for one more photo of Willow crouched in amongst the hay bales.

We had been coming out here every year on the 30th of October to choose a pumpkin for Peeta to carve into an elaborate design. It had been a big tradition in his family. I could remember the bakery having a whole row of pumpkins out front that Peeta and his brothers had carved and each year they got more and more intricate trying to one up each other.

I think the decorating is Peeta's favorite part of every holiday, but pumpkin carving definitely held a special place in his memory. The year after the fire he hadn't wanted to throw a party, or even make a costume; he skipped out on Thanksgiving altogether, but he had still carved a pumpkin.

I was happy that he still had something positive to remember about his family, and I really enjoyed the pumpkin bread that seemed to last until the middle of November.

"Mommy!" I often accuse Peeta of feeding her vanity with his incessant need to photograph her, but I had to admit that even if I wasn't her mother I would think she looked beautiful right now. The lighting really set off her olive skin tone and cast a hazy glow over her dark hair. My mother would like these photos a lot. We sent her a set from our day at the pumpkin patch every year around Thanksgiving as a gesture that we think of her during the holidays. Peeta invited her to join us every year, but every year she writes back and tells us how she was doing and sends her best wishes but never accepts the invitation. It was probably best this way.

"It's freezing!" I call out, "Can we get going?"

"Photo with mommy!" Willow calls back and I smile and jog over to join her.

Peeta dutifully takes a silly photo of me with Willow hanging out of my arms. "I think mommy's right, time to get going before we freeze out here."

In the car on the ride home we are all quiet. It has been a long day and it's a good fifty minutes back into town.

"Daddy," Willow's little voice chirped sleepily from the back seat where she is seated with an arm around the biggest pumpkin she could find.

"Yes sweetie?"

"Are you gonna make a face on the pumpkin?"

"I'm not sure what I'm going to carve this year," Peeta glances over his shoulder into the back seat and I look back to see Willow absentmindely tracing her finger over the pumpkin. "What would you like me to carve?"

"A face." Willow states. "With triangles for eyes."

I glance at Peeta to gauge his reaction to our daughter's demand for a traditional templated faced pumpkin. "Maybe," he says dismissively.

"Can I do it daddy? Can I carve the pumpkin?" Willow's face is now shining with eagerness as she wiggles forward in her car seat to try and reach Peeta's head from behind to get his attention.

"Baby, stay in your seat!" I remind her and she settles back down but continues to repeat her question.

I can see Peeta's knuckles turning white as his grip on the steering wheel tightens and his jaw clenches.

"Can she help?" I ask him with a smirk playing around my lips. I see Peeta just roll his eyes, but keep them fixed on the road. "Maybe even I could help," this suggestion has his head jolting to the side to look at me in complete horror.

I laugh and he seems to relax but still looks annoyed.

From the first few weeks following Willow's birth I have been envious of Peeta's patience with her. His patience makes him the wonderful father that he is. Until a few months ago his perfect parenting skills frustrated me a little when I could see so many flaws in myself. That was until he was making an Easter bunny garland and Willow begged to help.

Each bunny ended up with a huge smudge of blue over their heads, rather than the delicate dot for an eye that Peeta had tried to guide her to recreate.

Peeta still hung the garland and told her it was ok, but I could see him cringing every time he caught sight of it. When it came to the fourth of July Peeta had holed himself up in the study to make the bunting alone.

"Can I Daddy? We can do it together," Willow was beaming from the backseat, probably thinking about all the fun she had had with the blue paint at Easter, while in the front seat Peeta looked as if he was in physical pain. He found it hard to deny Willow anything, but the artist in him was a perfectionist and Willow's artistic skills fell way below perfect. She was still only three, but so far it looked as though most of her artistic talent came from me.

"Why don't you help me make the pumpkin soup?" I offer Peeta a bone by trying to distract her and I see that a little of his tension seems to disappear when Willow agrees – with a yawn – that she would like to help make the soup.

"After I carve the pumpkin with Daddy."

"Great sweetie." Peeta's voice sounds far from enthusiastic.

When we pull up into the driveway Willow is still fast asleep, slumped over the pumpkin in the backseat. I gently undo the straps of the car seat and carry her into the house with Peeta following with the pumpkin.

I would usually worry about Willow falling asleep this early, but she did have a pretty exhausting day so I can only hope that she will sleep through until a decent hour in the morning.

When I come back downstairs after putting Willow to bed I find that Peeta has cleared the kitchen table and has already set to work gutting the pumpkin.

"What'cha doing?" I tease him and he looks up at me with a slightly frantic look in his eyes.

"Carving a pumpkin." He gestures wildly with one hand.

"But I thought you wanted to do it with your eager little daughter," I stand behind him with my arms around his middle and my chin resting on his shoulder. "She will be so disappointed."

"You know I love her Katniss. I would do anything for her," he put down his knife and looks at me earnestly. "But that child can't even hold a paint brush!" Peeta puffs a little air out of his nose in that adorable way he has. "And she wanted triangular eyes and a smiley face!" His ears are getting a little pink. "I have been carving pumpkins for twenty-four years and not once did I carve triangular eyes!"

His cheeks are flushing now too and I wonder if he knows how adorable he looks with the smudge of pumpkin guts on his nose. I wipe it off with my finger and then plant a little kiss on his nose.

"OK," I shrug and leave him to his pumpkin carving.

The next morning Peeta is not in bed and I wonder if he is still carving the pumpkin. It hasn't been unheard of for him to take more than 12 hours to create one of his masterpieces.

As I make my way downstairs I hear Peeta and Willow together in the kitchen. I vaguely wonder if she even remembers that he said she could carve the pumpkin with him.

The kitchen already smells like pumpkin bread when I enter and my heart flutters at the sight of Peeta with Willow in his lap dutifully carving a pumpkin that looks suspiciously smaller than the one we brought home from the pumpkin patch.

"Look mommy!" Willow cries in excitement and I look and see two triangular eyes have been carved into the pumpkin by inexperienced hands.

"Wow," I pretend to marvel. "I think this might be the best pumpkin we ever had." Peeta shoots me a disgruntled look from behind Willow's back and Willow beams with pride.

"I told you the eyes would be scary Daddy!" She giggles and presses her cheek against his as he continues to carve according to her design.

When it's done I chase Willow upstairs to pick out her clothes for the day and when we're alone I turn to Peeta.

"Where did you get that?" I raise my eyebrows and he grins sheepishly.

"Whole Foods was still open last night."

I sigh, but can't help the smile that breaks out over my face.

* * *

Notes: Thank you for reading, a review would mean a lot.


End file.
